Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

The soaring twin-towered church on Eagle St. across from Bleecker Park is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The Roman Catholic church was built from 1848 to 1852 and was consecrated on November 21, 1852. The American Gothic Revival style building is the second-oldest Catholic cathedral in New York State (after St. Patrick's in New York City) and the third oldest in the U.S. It was the first Catholic cathedral in the country built in the Neo-gothic style. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, the building was the tallest in Albany when the first (north) tower spire was finally finished in 1862, at 210 ft. tall; the south spire was built in 1888.

The first Roman Catholic church built in Albany was built in the late 1790s on land the city donated and stood for thirty years as the only church of its kind in Albany. The brick building, on the corner of Lodge and Pine, was replaced by St. Mary's Church in the same location twice: first in 1830 and again in the late 1860s.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception's architect, like many of the early parishioners, was an Irish immigrant named Patrick Charles Keely; he was a resident of Brooklyn. Many Irish Catholics settled in Albany after helping build the Erie Canal beginning in 1817; others moved from Ireland during the Irish potato famine of the 1830s. The cornerstone was laid on July 2, 1848 with Archbishop Hughes in attendance. The cathedral is in the form of a Latin cross with two side aisles. The building is brick, faced with sandstone, and the gable roof was slate-covered; the church was surrounded by a meadow when it was first built. Stained glass was imported from England. The cathedral was consecrated in 1852 by Albany's first Catholic Bishop, John McClosky. The cathedral's bells were cast in Troy, New York at the Meneely Bell Foundry; they were first rung in the north tower in December 1862. This tower contains a clock that was made in England in 1801 and originally was in the First Dutch Church in Albany.

Besides the cathedral. there were at least six Roman Catholic churches in an 1869 Albany city directory: St. Mary's (on Lodge St.), St. John's (Ferry), St. Ann's (Nucella), St. Joseph's (Ten Broek), St. Patrick's (Central Ave.), and Church of Holy Cross ("German," on Hamilton). An iron fence was built around the cathedral property in 1868, with gates and posts on Eagle St. While the church was designed to hold 2,500, crowds sometimes numbered around 4,000 by the early 1880s. The apse and adjoining sacristies were added in the early 1890s. In 1890, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was headed by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Albany, the Rt. Reverend Francis McNierny. The Rector was Rev. F.D. McGuire, with the Reverends Edward A. Pidgeon and W.J. Torpey as Assistants. The church was one of about fourteen Roman Catholic churches or chapels in Albany at the time. The exterior was refaced in 1902 by James T. O'Shaunessy.

Unlike other local Catholic churches, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception holds the bishop's chair (the "Cathedra"); major holiday masses are celebrated by the bishop.

Some of the heads of government in New York State have worshiped here, including Governor Alfred E. Smith. The congregation's households numbered about 3,000 by the 1950s. Urban renewal and the removal of some of downtown's housing to construct the Empire State Plaza helped shrink the numbers to only about 300 by the mid-1960s. The cathedral almost became a victim of the wrecking ball but was saved through efforts of the Most Rev. William A. Scully and N.Y. Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller. There are around 700 households in the parish now.

Restoration of the cathedral was proposed earlier but didn't get underway until 2000. New sandstone was imported from England to replace some of the stone on the north tower and elsewhere. A new roof of rolled lead - the only one of its kind in the U.S. - was installed. The main entrance, on the east end of the church, has new granite steps and carved sandstone portals at the doorway. More stonework is planned. The interior received major restoration in 2010 with plaster repair, lighting, and seating improvements.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. History, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. January 1st 2021. Accessed July 25th 2022. https://cathedralic.com/history/.

Phelps, Henry P. The Albany Hand-book for 1881. Edition Second. Albany, NY. McDonough, 1880.

Ralph, Elizabeth K. NRHP Nomination of Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Albany, N.Y. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1976.

Sampson, Murdock & Company. The Albany Directory for the Year 1890. Albany, NY. Van Benthuysen Printing House, 1890.

Scharfenburger, Edward B., Bishop of Albany. Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception tour brochure. January 1st 2017. Accessed July 25th 2022. http://cathedralic.com/newsite2017/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Tour-Brochure-2017.pdf.

Wallace, Joseph C. Wallace's Street Directory and City Guide of Albany. Albany, NY. C. Van Benthuysen & Sons Printers, 1869.